San Francisco-based singer/songwrit… Read Full Bio ↴The band consists of two operatives,
San Francisco-based singer/songwriter/producer davidmahr and Swedish keyboardist/composer
Lars Wallden. With influences spanning the history of synthesizer music-from 80s synthpop to eurodisco and back-the duo's mutual electronica obsessions merge flawlessly on their debut album, despite the fact that the band mates have never met in person.
This deliciously danceable music is the fruit of an organic synthesis that begins online, of all places. The band mates work separately in studios in San Francisco and the commercial port town of Karlshamn, Sweden, and trade music files over the Internet. Introduced electronically by a mutual friend (a DJ and promoter of the SYNTHCON music conference), the two began collaborating in 2001 after discovering, through email and IM conversations, a common worship of 80s synthpop demigod Vince Clarke (founder of Depeche Mode, Yazoo, and Erasure). Agency-X was born when, in a three-hour fit of pure inspiration, davidmahr wrote and arranged vocals for a demo piece that Wallden had ICQ'd over-which became the single "Don't Hold your Breath." The band's first release also included a remake of "Walk Away From Love, "originally recorded for the Ninthwave Records compilation of 2002 Nobody's Diary: A Tribute to Yazoo.
Agency-X's front man, davidmahr, has released solo projects on his own Delicious Records label including 1997's No Drama! and 1999's Lost & Found albums as well as the three-song EP Only You, featuring the title Yazoo cover track and the international club hit "Sugar Candi (What You Mean to Me)."
Lars Wallden, the keyboard-programming mastermind behind Agency-X, is best known for keeping alive the machine-made, Clarke-influenced sound with his Swedish synthpop band AvantGarde, which he started in 1990.
So how do an openly gay man in San Francisco and a straight man in Sweden write love songs together? In the case of "Catch Me," davidmahr put Wallden's tale of meeting and falling for a woman named Katrin into song. But when he sings "Oh Katrin, won't you catch me and fall in love? Let's go hand-in-hand - let's see the world together…" he imagines Katrin as a man, explaining with a smile, "Love is love." He continues: "Writing a love song really is about understanding what that particular person is going through, the emotions being felt. I certainly know how happy and goofy I felt when I first fell in love with my partner of 13 years. In fact, the songs on this album speak to so many emotions that are universal - love and happiness, of course, but also fear, insecurity, loss, and finally, hope."
The songs are full of double and hidden meanings. In "At the End of the Day" when the singer asks, "Have you ever had the kind of love that drives you insane?" The answer, "In a happy way, it's a happy day, oh yeah" somehow makes perfect sense. Other lyrics are more direct: "All is quiet on the western front, my mind tries to say - but my heart says something else - Why did you have to die?"
The album is a collection of tales based on the adventures of two "secret" agents searching for love and the meaning of life, just like the rest of us. On this mission, the specifics of any relationship are less important than the common experiences of joy, sadness, loss, regret, redemption, and finally, hope: "Looks like the mission is finally over. Floating here amongst the wreckage…Come find me, I'm worth saving."
The bouncy electro beats and lush vocal arrangements on Mission Impossible deliver pop perfection with a bittersweet complexity that emerges over repeated listening. Agency-X joins forces in cyberspace-the ultimate expression of human isolation-but traverses the landscape of the heart in search of understanding. Deceptively sweet and light, Mission Impossible is a satisfying meal for body and soul.
New World
Agency-X Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Maintain your social distance
If you need it, get inline
Check your watch, you're out of time
The doomsday clock hand waves
Earth children lie in their graves
Initial screening, questions asked
By ugly bitches
Death toll speculation
Extinct population
Swept by a viral tide
A modern-day genocide
Social media trepidation's
Mass panic sweeping nations
Truth's up for interpretation
Isolation breeds frustration
A forced inoculation
A roll of the dice
A chip on your shoulder
A tracking device
A forced inoculation
A roll of the dice
A chip on your shoulder
A tracking device
As we head into the future
Paranoia, hate and fear
As we head into the future
Now we see the end is near
Wake up it's already here
We only have
Mankind to blame
The world as we know it
Will never be the same
We only have
Mankind to blame
The world as we know it
Will never be the same
Will never be the same
Will never be the same
The lyrics of Agency X's song "New World" convey a sense of disillusionment and disappointment with the current state of affairs in the world. The opening lines depict a sense of confusion and disorientation, as the singer finds that the bars are closed for an unknown reason, which may be related to a political event such as an election. This sets the tone for the rest of the song, which laments the state of the world and contrasts it unfavorably with a supposed ideal past.
The references to specific locations such as Flint, Buffalo, and Gary serve to underscore the universality of the singer's critique, suggesting that these problems are not limited to any one particular place or region. The lyrics also suggest a sense of desperation and poverty, as the singer begs for money and basic necessities such as food and shelter. The phrase "don't forget the motor city" is repeated throughout the song, emphasizing the importance of this region to the singer's conception of the world.
Line by Line Meaning
honest to goodness the bars weren't open this morning they must have been voting for a new president of something do you have a quarter?
I swear the bars were closed this morning, it must be because of an important election happening. Can you give me a quarter?
honest to goodness the tears have been falling all over the country's face it was better before before they voted for what's his name this is supposed to be the new world flint ford auto mobil alabama windshield wiper buffalo new york gary indiana don't forget the motor city baltimore and d.c. now all we need is don't forget the motor city this was supposed to be the new world
The nation is undergoing struggles and changes, and things were better before the new leader was elected. This country should be the land of prosperity with new inventions like cars and windshields. Don't forget about the Motor City and other major cities, as they are vital to the progress of the new world.
all we need is money just give us what you can spare twenty or thirty pounds of potatoes or twenty or thirty beers a turkey on thanks giving like alms for the poor all we need are the necessities and more
We require money, even if it's just a little, and basic resources like food and drink. A turkey on Thanksgiving would be like giving alms to the poor. However, we need more than just necessities to thrive.
it was better before they voted for what his name this is supposed to be the new world don't forget the motor city this was supposed to be the new world
The world was a better place before this new leader was elected, and he needs to remember how important cities like the Motor City are to the success of the new world.
Lyrics © DistroKid
Written by: Joe Farias, Sean Farias
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind